GERY RIVER ARGUS and Blackball News

Grey River Argus, 22 November 1920, Page 2

GERY RIVER ARGUS and Blackball News

Delivered every morning- in Greymouth, Kumarn Hokitika, Dobsou, WaUsend, Taylorville, Croua dvu t Ngahere, Blackball, Nelso. Creek, Briiunei Te lUiigrhn, Sotomami, Pv _-ua, liicubouuie, Patara. Syrii, Knimata, Kotuku, r£otuia, Aratika, liuuaiiga, JDimoUXe, Cobdew, Ba_. .st's, Kokiri, Alun^n, Ika matua, Stillw&ter. Waiuta. and Jtecft.on. MONDAY, NOV. 22, 1920. FUTURE OF OUR TIMBER INDUSTRY. Only within the last few years have New Zealanders begun generally to mi lise the essential facts of our timbci supply. The great increase in the de maud for timber, both witiiin ano without tho Domtoiou, -hus brought home these facts to the people, who now realise not only the great present and greater prospective value of the national asset provided, by nature in. the shape of our extensive forests, but also that such an asset must be preserved. The great domestic and outside demand has not merely made sawmilling a most lucrative industry, but it has made inroads upon the national capital in timber so extensive as t< focus upon our diminishing forests general public attention. The absence hitherto of any organised attempt to inake t good the forest depletion in tin Dominion has seen not only the suici dal depletion of the forests of kauri but coincideutally with the great ex pansion in the rimu, white pine and other forests of the milling industry has raised the question as to how. long. such a process could go on as it has been doing. Thus not long ago it was calculated that if the present rate of cut ting continued for 50 or fiO years it would see the exhaustion of practiealh all -st ho useful timber in Now Zealand The result of! this apprehension haf been a movement by Jhe Govtrnment to preserve and improve the Dominion 't timber resources, both for the present generation anM for posterity, and it i. c evident that those who luwc at heart ffthe future welfare of the country anc' of the timber industry welcome the action . that is being taken in that direction, namely a policy "of Statfe afforestation and timber conservation. True it is that in general the policy of thr present Government has heen rather unfavourable than otherwise to the principle of conserving community in !<terests by the natural method of State enterprise, as instanced by the exceptionally favourable treatment that rho farming industry has received at the expense of the rest of the community But this is only a stronger reason foi giving them credit where it is clue for a departure from -their customary policy plainly based on the recognition that community rights and interests properly should take precedence of those of individuals. Yet we note in a contemporary sonic criticism of the proposals of the Forestry Department. It is contended that its net result will bo a waste of money, rather than a gain :to the country. It is argued that the placing of iue forests under rangers ami conservators will mean a bureaucracy at the head of wliirtv flic Minister at Wellington will Avield autocratic power, and that the salaries' will be a big expense for which there will be no adequate return. Tt would seam I hint' such critifsm is bnso/1 oifhor upon a' failure 'to ".ndorshuid and appreciate

the main objtctive of a forestry policy, or- else an apprehension that the / regulation of the disposal of public property will interfere with the profits which speculators and /those who "farm" timber areas have in years past been able to secure from an untrammelled traffic in community assets which defective laws have- permitted to go on. There was, for instance, a case in South Westland irecently where 10,000 acres of timber lands were sought to be secured by a syndicate, and the country's quid pro quo for part ing with such an asset was to have been practically nothing. A warden's decision was all that stood between tKe syndicate and the land, and this was secured, and then on the strength of this the property was advertised as being worth a huge sum as si milling proposition. Fortunately, the inauguration of a forestry policy has probably prevented the alieutation of this area by the Stalte, and if a forestry policy is going to ensure that in any such transactions in future the State 'ihall' receive an adequat ereturn for the commodity that changes owners, it is nonsense Ito say such a policy will entail a loss to the community. On the contrary it is the lack of such a forestry policy that would mean a loss to the State. The aim of the Forestry Department, as it has several times made it clear ,is to ensure that such Crown lands shall be in future put up for public competition, with, a fair upset price upon the standing timber, and the receipts be all devoted to planting fresh trees and the conservation and proper control of existing natural forests. No doubt, those whose outlook does not go beyond the immediate present would ignore the value of a timber supply in perpetuilty. They would write off such, .an asset as worthless j . but, as- already remarked, the interests of the community ta,kc prccedneo of any individual or even local interest, and the timber supply is an instance where this is peculiarly well illustrated, since it. is only " the long time viewpoint that comprehends the ways and means of conserving the community interests. The objection to a forestry administration on the score of expense is specious and dictated by purely local and individualistic considerations. The estimated cost per acre of such an administration is only thrco farthings per acre, while at a lqjv j estimate an acre of timber laud should i return the State £12, so that each aero j would provide for its own administration for a period of about 3000 years. But, in addition, there is the timber! industry and. the timber supply for the future to consider. The maintenance, loy scientific means, of a permanenttimber capital will stabilise the milling industry, and, instead of being the creature of a decade, it will take its rightful place with farming or mining as a permanency. Considering that there arc 7,000,000 t acres of forest in the Dominion and 1,600,000 acres on tho West Coast, (the community has a great asset, that needs, with its growing value, to be shepherded, and kept from exploiters who would not touch it except to extract from the aelual niiUcr the money that should go to the com.nunity. As "to the argument about a bureaucracy, the Forestry Department aims actually.- at. decentralisation. 'While the foresters, of Avhom there would be not many more than a score :or the whole country, would see that he bush Avas properly and fully cut, md that the miller would not pick the jyes out of it, the conservator for each >f the four or five main districts would Iceidc all matters on the spot in Isvard" to the disposal of areas. The v with, small -capital, will get' thepreference, as 6 the areas will be small, .md the conservators, who will be experts, will -bo the ruling officials, ond not the Minister. In European countries, forestry is <ueh a great success that the only wonder is the. delay in adopting' such a oolicy in this country. " It is pointed nit that freehold land supplies over 30 per Cjent'. of the. Coast output of tim>er at present, but much of this freevold had no right to be sold at the ow price it was sold for. Moreover, t is admitted that enough Crown land ias of late been let for milling to vrovido 20 years' output on rtlic Coast,. 0 that it should be the right tln n g to horoughly clcar v that bush before* tacking more. Summed up, the main adantages of MlO .Forestry Department's rork will be: — <1) The securing to the '.ommunity of an adequate return for he timber it now possesses; (2) tho tabilising of the sawmilling industry; 3) the preservation of our forests and' he retention of a permanent timber ••upply; (4) the demarcation of agriculural land from land if* it is only for forestry: and (5) the improvement of :he small miller's opportunities.